Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
“We knew this was a huge leap” — Thomatis led MT into Sun Belt during her Hall of Fame Career
9/30/2021 6:00:00 PM | General, Women's Basketball, BRAA
The forward was the first Blue Raider women’s basketball player to make all-conference teams in two different conferences.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — The game was going down to the wire in Athens, Ga., and everyone in the gym knew Stephany Smith was putting the ball in Jamie Thomatis' hands. A classic "time and score" situation the Blue Raiders drilled in practice, everyone expected Smith would try to get the ball into her star forward's hands. Which is exactly why Smith called a play for her freshman guard.
Some stars might've been upset they wouldn't get the chance to make the shot. But not Jamie Thomatis. She understood the Bulldogs would double team her.
"I remember during that timeout, Jamie was shaking her head yes, up and down, the entire time," Smith said. "That just kind of spoke to how she wanted what was best for the team. In most moments, that meant the ball was in her hands. But in that particular moment when the ball wasn't, she understood it and was all for it."
The Blue Raiders made the shot in that situation, Smith said, merely a bonus reward for good execution. But more importantly, Smith said, it showed Thomatis' selflessness, her will to do what's best for the team. For the first women's basketball player in MT history to be named to two different conferences' all-conference teams, that will to win pushed her all the way into the Blue Raider Hall of Fame.
"It was emotional," Thomatis said of hearing the news of her induction. "Every now and again, it's almost like God taps you on the shoulder and lets you know you've traveled the journey well, you've done well. It was a very humbling, emotional pat on the back."
Hailing from Destrehan, La. in the Gulf Coast of the state, Thomatis had no clue MT would be switching conferences from the OVC to the Sun Belt during her time in Murfreesboro, a change brought about athletic department wide by the football program's elevation to Division I-A. She didn't even know who most of her competitors were in the OVC when she was being recruited. But as the program transitioned to the Sun Belt her junior year, the excitement of playing schools closer to home, like Louisiana Tech or the University of New Orleans, to say nothing of the higher level of competition, really started to hit home.
"Twenty years later, one of the things that really sticks with me is the excitement that we had as a program, as teammates and as players," Thomatis said. "For women's basketball, we knew this was a huge leap for our competitive league. Down the road, it might mean more opportunities for NCAA bids, better recruiting. They were all things that sort of signaled MTSU women's basketball taking a next step."
After earning first team All-OVC honors in the Blue Raiders' final year in the conference in 2000, Thomatis made the first team All-Sun Belt in 2001 and 2002, in addition to earning a spot on the All-Sun Belt Tournament squad as a senior in 2002 when MT made a run to the tournament finals in just its second season in the conference. Smith said her touch and finesse around the basket were immediately what stood out when she was recruiting her, and stayed strengths of her game throughout her career.
"She was really one of the reasons we smoothly made that transition," Smith said. "She really was a next level player, and she deserved the opportunity to play in a larger league. She embraced that whole heartedly."
Thomatis graduated with the third most points in Blue Raider women's basketball history, and still ranks fourth to this day. A 5-11 post player, Thomatis ranks first all-time in program history in field goal percentage and free throw percentage, and her 17.6 points per game scoring average is seventh best in program history. She also ranks in the top ten in total field goals made in her career.
Some of her favorite memories from her time in Murfreesboro were off the court with her teammates ("some of my best friends in life" she said). But on the court, Thomatis remembers being proud of the fight the team showed in their first year in the Sun Belt, where after they dropped five of the team's first six Sun Belt games, the team went on to win eight of their last ten to make the Sun Belt tournament and earn a berth in the Women's NIT.
"We had a very short roster and we did not start Sun Belt play off very strongly," Thomatis said. "But we made a push, we made a little bit of a run on the back stretch of it.
"It showed we belong here, and it won't be such a rebuild in this conference."
Some stars might've been upset they wouldn't get the chance to make the shot. But not Jamie Thomatis. She understood the Bulldogs would double team her.
"I remember during that timeout, Jamie was shaking her head yes, up and down, the entire time," Smith said. "That just kind of spoke to how she wanted what was best for the team. In most moments, that meant the ball was in her hands. But in that particular moment when the ball wasn't, she understood it and was all for it."
The Blue Raiders made the shot in that situation, Smith said, merely a bonus reward for good execution. But more importantly, Smith said, it showed Thomatis' selflessness, her will to do what's best for the team. For the first women's basketball player in MT history to be named to two different conferences' all-conference teams, that will to win pushed her all the way into the Blue Raider Hall of Fame.
"It was emotional," Thomatis said of hearing the news of her induction. "Every now and again, it's almost like God taps you on the shoulder and lets you know you've traveled the journey well, you've done well. It was a very humbling, emotional pat on the back."
Hailing from Destrehan, La. in the Gulf Coast of the state, Thomatis had no clue MT would be switching conferences from the OVC to the Sun Belt during her time in Murfreesboro, a change brought about athletic department wide by the football program's elevation to Division I-A. She didn't even know who most of her competitors were in the OVC when she was being recruited. But as the program transitioned to the Sun Belt her junior year, the excitement of playing schools closer to home, like Louisiana Tech or the University of New Orleans, to say nothing of the higher level of competition, really started to hit home.
"Twenty years later, one of the things that really sticks with me is the excitement that we had as a program, as teammates and as players," Thomatis said. "For women's basketball, we knew this was a huge leap for our competitive league. Down the road, it might mean more opportunities for NCAA bids, better recruiting. They were all things that sort of signaled MTSU women's basketball taking a next step."
After earning first team All-OVC honors in the Blue Raiders' final year in the conference in 2000, Thomatis made the first team All-Sun Belt in 2001 and 2002, in addition to earning a spot on the All-Sun Belt Tournament squad as a senior in 2002 when MT made a run to the tournament finals in just its second season in the conference. Smith said her touch and finesse around the basket were immediately what stood out when she was recruiting her, and stayed strengths of her game throughout her career.
"She was really one of the reasons we smoothly made that transition," Smith said. "She really was a next level player, and she deserved the opportunity to play in a larger league. She embraced that whole heartedly."
Thomatis graduated with the third most points in Blue Raider women's basketball history, and still ranks fourth to this day. A 5-11 post player, Thomatis ranks first all-time in program history in field goal percentage and free throw percentage, and her 17.6 points per game scoring average is seventh best in program history. She also ranks in the top ten in total field goals made in her career.
Some of her favorite memories from her time in Murfreesboro were off the court with her teammates ("some of my best friends in life" she said). But on the court, Thomatis remembers being proud of the fight the team showed in their first year in the Sun Belt, where after they dropped five of the team's first six Sun Belt games, the team went on to win eight of their last ten to make the Sun Belt tournament and earn a berth in the Women's NIT.
"We had a very short roster and we did not start Sun Belt play off very strongly," Thomatis said. "But we made a push, we made a little bit of a run on the back stretch of it.
"It showed we belong here, and it won't be such a rebuild in this conference."
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